Growing up as a young Asian American, I could count all the minorities I idolized on one hand because only three of them were Asian; Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Michelle Kwan. Representation for minorities in the media has always been very minimal and despite it being 2016, it seems like our society is still a bit unenthusiastic with having someone other than a Caucasian on the big screen.

So I ask you, what do The Teahouse of the August Moon, Norbit and Breakfast At Tiffany’s have in common?

Yellow face.

Yellow face is the act of using makeup to portray someone, typically a Caucasian actor/actress, as someone from East Asian descent. It’s wrong and Hollywood has been committing this racist act since the 1900’s and it’s still in existence today. Emma Stone’s casting in “Aloha” brought huge uproar since her character was to be Part-Asian. A kung fu tribute on “How I Met Your Mother”, where the all-white cast played stereotypical Asian masters donning accents and silk robes. Let’s not forget Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight, where the Caucasian magician was known as “Wei Ling Soo”.

Why is there still negligence to cast minorities in roles intended for them? Why are casting directors blatantly denying racial equality on the big screen?

I don’t have the answers to that, but I do know that media is a highly influential platform. The fact that these atrocious acts of racism have become “justifiable” taints the self-esteem of our younger generation. According to UCLA’s 2015 Minority in Media report, 16.7% of minorities held a lead role out of the 174 films examined in 2013. That’s roughly 29 films with people of color as the main character. Based on those figures, POC are only given one-sixth of the coverage in a country where the minority population bypass the white supremacists, and yet are still silenced and forced to abide to conforming standards. Imagine the psychogenic impact of having a lack of representation for minorities on adolescents.

Personally, I identify myself as a huge advocate for minority representation in general. When I was growing up, I struggled a lot with my identity and felt obligated to conform to the standards of a society that raved about a feminine beauty ideal through mass media. I know I am not the only one who went through this hardship and I wouldn’t want anyone to suffer the pain of insecurity.

I strongly believe the root of conflicting declaration and confidence in self-identity is a result of being underrepresented in an industry dominated by white supremacists. Granted, minorities are slowly taking over Hollywood but in this day and age, we can gladly identify at least five celebrities that represent our race. Despite it all, this wave of righteousness can not and will not bury the fact that racial bias, such as Yellow Face, is still common.